Cameron Tarrant's 2015 season was an ordinary one.

As a junior quarterback for Penn Hills' football team, Tarrant threw for 704 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

Included in those stats was a dismal night at NexTier Stadium in Week 8 when Tarrant completed five of 11 passes for just 25 yards in a 23-0 loss to Seneca Valley.

But that was then and this is now.

Through five games, Tarrant is averaging 318 passing yards per game to go with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions for the Indians.

He will lead Penn Hills into enemy territory when the Indians again visit NexTier Stadium Friday in a colossal game for both teams when it comes to the Northern Seven Conference standings.

The Indians enter the contest with a 2-1 conference record while the Raiders are 1-2. The top four of seven teams in the conference will qualify for the WPIAL Class 6-A playoffs.

Penn Hills' three victories — against Butler, Canon-McMillan and Shaler last week — have come against teams with a combined record of 2-12.

SV coach Dave Vestal has watched the film of last year's win over Penn Hills several times.

“It was a combination of great coverage and a good pass rush,” he said. “We had someone spying him (Tarrant) and were able to get off the field on third down. It was a team effort on defense.”

“Billy Kisner entered last season as our starting quarterback, but was injured a lot and that's why Cameron got a lot of playing time,” said Penn Hills coach John Peterman. “We had a lot of good wide receivers returning this year and knew we'd be throwing the ball.”

Tarrant has completed at least 13 passes to four different players, led by junior wideout Julian Major (26 catches for 394 yards and seven touchdowns).

Major stands 6-foot-2 while fellow wide receiver Daivon Stephens (13-200-1) is 6-foot-6.

Major has attracted interest from several Division I schools, including Arkansas, Wisconsin, Iowa and Iowa State.

“You can't favor one kid,” Vestal said of his coverage options. “You have to defend the scheme and tackling well is a must. With these guys (Indians), a 5-yard pass can turn into an 80-yard gain.”

Tarrant is also the Indians' leading rusher with 385 yards while scoring two touchdowns. He was held to 32 yards on nine carries by the Raiders last season.

SV has its own dual threat in senior quarterback Jack Cook, who has passed for 710 yards and rushed for 286 while contributing 11 combined touchdowns.

Hank Royal leads the Raiders' ground attack with 439 yards. He was held to 41 in last week's 42-14 loss to Central Catholic and will look to get back to his bruising, punishing style against the Penn Hills defense.

“You can have all the skill in the world, but if you can't block, you're not going to be able to run or pass,” Peterman said. “Seneca Valley is the most physical team up front we will have faced to this point.

“I coached against Dave (Vestal) when he was at Hopewell and I was at Franklin Regional (as an assistant). His teams are always well-coached.”

Royal gained 146 of SV's 281 rushing yards in the victory over the Indians in 2015.

“We have to stay on schedule on offense and our run game is a big part of that,” said Vestal.

But the Raiders' run-blocking took a hit in last week's game. Right guard Shane Stadtfeld was lost to a leg injury and will not play. SV is still without senior Jake Rocco, who was supposed to be the starting left guard before an injury in the preseason.

“Drew Robertson will fill in for Shane,” said Vestal.